Watch: Airport fire engulfs weather station and destroys webcam
Time-lapse footage shows a fast-spreading airport fire destroying a weather station in California. Cal Fire said 22,376 acres of land were burned.
As the Airport Fire, one of three major wildfires currently raging in Southern California, rages for the third day in a row, time-lapse footage from a weather station deployed as the fire spread has captured the rapid advance of flames in Orange and Riverside counties.
On Tuesday, the fire spread into the Cleveland National Forest and Santiago Peak, where cameras at several communication stations recorded its advance. The time-lapse footage shows the fire spreading quickly through a steep and narrow ravine and then engulfing the site in flames.
While footage shows the fire spreading across the summit, no communications disruptions have been reported in the area.
See forest fire map: Line Fire in California expands to 26,000 acres, more evacuations underway
Airport fire rages on
According to Cal Fire, the airport fire, which began on Sept. 9, has destroyed about 22,376 acres of land as of Wednesday afternoon. Named for the small remote-controlled aircraft facility near the mouth of Trabuco Canyon where the fire was first reported, the airport fire was reportedly accidentally started by an Orange County Public Works construction crew using heavy equipment to move boulders, the Palm Springs Desert Sun reported Sept. 10.
“The fire was ruled accidental. The cause of the fire was a spark from heavy equipment,” said TJ McGovern, deputy chief of the Orange County Fire Department, according to the Palm Springs Desert Sun. “After drivers unloaded a load of boulders, they noticed smoke coming from the loading area.”
As of Wednesday, two firefighters had been treated for heat-related injuries and a third person had difficulty breathing due to smoke. Two hikers were rescued from a trail near the fire site.
Thousands of residents in and around the Santa Ana Mountains in Orange and Riverside counties have either already been evacuated or are preparing to evacuate as the fire continues to rage.
Airport fire map
Janet Wilson contributed to this report.
Max Hauptman is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]
